Notch

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We provide national IT services for universities and research institutions in Croatia, for almost 50 years. International projects also play a big part in our daily operations. I am the Head of Information Systems Department.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire AGENCY04?

We hired AGENCY04 to help us with development of national Current Research Information Systems (CRIS). We are in need of extra developers to give a helping hand to our own.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal is to create a new national research information system, which will be integrated or interconnected with a number of other information systems in Croatia and several international systems as well. It will consist of approximately 50 different modules, all implemented using Spring Boot.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

For this project, the public procurement took place. AGENCY04 provided the best offer with regard to both value for money and the expertise and experience of their developers, which was important to us.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They are helping design, develop, configure and deploy a number of modules for our system. Their developers bring the necessary experience and provide a valuable insights and suggestions to improve all of the key factors of each module.

What was the team composition?

The project team has about ten people, and some of them come and go depending on the skill needed at certain point in time. Their developers are integrated in our team as equals, with our own project manager. An agile development approach is taking place, with very frequent releases of new versions.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

This project represents a national research information infrastructure. It is going to be used by all of the people in all the fields of science and research in the country, as well as many national agencies, ministries and other organizations.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Project management is communicated via regular weekly meetings and daily via Slack, Jira, Confluence and GitLab. Their developers regularly inform about any possible delays and suggest other paths that could be follow. They are generally proactive and creative, thus giving the project manager more options and flexibility.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The most impressive part of our collaboration are skillful developers that they not only do what is expected of them, but also think ahead, ask difficult questions and yet try to find many answers themselves, communicate clearly and thoughtfully, and on top of that, understand the common goal we're working on.

Are there any areas for improvement?

The only area of improvement would be to train all of their developers in social skills. We had some of them in our previous collaborations who were not so skilled socially, and that could generate a loss of time, which is our valuable asset.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We're an R&D company developing proprietary computer vision technology optimized for realtime processing on mobile devices. Advanced neural networks and deep learning techniques are used to process the fastest and the most accurate text recognition locally on a mobile device. Therefore, we offer a variety of products as mobile SDK (software development kit) or Web API tailored for specific use-cases. We aim to completely eliminate the need for manual data entry on mobile devices, thus improving user experience and engagement. I work as a CTO and I'm also one of the cofounders.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire AGENCY04?

For software development services on verification project.

What were your goals for this project?

We're launching a new product and the goal of it is to be able to verify identity of the users of mobile and web apps online. Agency04 is helping us with software development on the iOS platform on this product.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We've known Agency04 for a long time but never had a chance to work with them. We reviewed several other candidates for this topic but Agency04's references, technical talent and the approach to software development looked as an excellent match.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Project consists of mobile (iOS and Android) and web components. Agency04 worked with us on the iOS side. They basically started from zero, and with collaboration with dedicated Product owner on this project, got us to a position to launch the product with the first client in 4 months. They were responsible for - SW development - SW Architecture - technical product steering - talking with the client - integration support

What was the team composition?

On the project we've collaborated with their Senior iOS software engineer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

With the results of the project, we're now working with several potential clients that are interested in using the product. The clients are in finance and banking sector. We expect to see return on investment with the first couple clients.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Project managment was done internally by us. We're happy with the results.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their technical knowledge, flexibility, work ethic, and culture are impressive.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We're very happy with the work so far and wouldn't change anything.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

EdTech company with large user base.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire AGENCY04?

We were developing a content contributor platform and didn't have enough internal resources to build it.

What were your goals for this project?

The goal of the project was to build the platform in iterations, from a prototype, over a functional closed beta version with friendly users up to a production version open to the globe.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We knew the team from projects in previous companies and as we worked well with good results it was an obvious choice to hire them.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Developed a Kotlin+PostgreSQL backend and React frontend.

What was the team composition?

The project had three mid-level developer from the Agency to complement internal resources.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

We had a tight schedule and the system was delivered on time.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

An internal developer was PM from our side and most experienced developer from the agency was doing code reviews and managing other developers from the agency. Initially we were all on-site and using tools like Jira, Confluence and Slack while after covid-19 measures we all switched to remote work.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The developers from the agency are very adaptive. They were experienced in Java and had limited experiences with Kotlin. As our projects were all in Kotlin they quickly switched.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Communicating how something will be developed ahead can reduce the number of iterations in development.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm VP Growth at Spotsie. Spotsie is a startup for improving conferences by applying innovative IoT ideas to make life easier for both attendees and organizers. Lots of conferences today have mobile apps that eliminate the need for printed material by pushing schedule updates or important announcements. But for Spotsie, that was not enough. Envisioning how to help attendees meet each other by matching mutual interests, and how organizers could act on real-time reports on congestions of conference space, Spotsie architectured a Bluetooth-based beacon system to handle indoor attendee location.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire AGENCY04?

For the system to work, the conference mobile app needed super-easy onboarding and opt-in user profiles, while providing a seamless configuration of beacons that come with conference passes. The complication is, this had to work no matter which phone an attendee was using!

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted a white-label, feature-rich event app that will improve the visiting experience by applying IoT technology and using Bluetooth devices – beacons.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We made a shortlist of companies, including AGENCY04, and provided requirements.

Describe the project in detail.

We started with discovery workshops and result was visual prototype and mockups by UX/UI design team and even a list of additional features. We were concerned our requirements would be difficult to understand but we were relieved to see that team understood the concept of the product quickly. The application was developed natively for both platforms, iOS and Android.

What was the team composition?

iOS team - Senior, Mid and Junior Developer, Android team - Senior Mid and Junior Developer, UI/UX Designer, Senior Fullstack Developer, Junior Frontend Developer, Mid Backend Developer

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

MVP’s performance in real conference surroundings went smoothly. Ratings and adoption were high and users were engaged from the start to finish, which proves the simplicity and functionality of the app that is created by the highest world standards.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

They were highly professional, always providing the best tech and innovative solutions, which is certainly desirable while developing such a complex and sophisticated product that needs to impress and engage users and provide them with exceptional UX.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

It was not just an Agile development of native apps. For the system to work, the mobile app had to have super-easy onboarding and had to have opt-in user profiles, while at the same time providing seamless configuration of beacons. Thanks to the AGENCY04 mobile team, their knowledge, skills, and dedication, this works beautifully.

Are there any areas for improvement?

The collaboration continues, the Spotsie team can’t imagine a better partner in developing such a complex and powerful product.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We provide IT Services to B2B customers in Switzerland. I am a project manager specialized in ECommerce solution implementation/integration.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire AGENCY04?

The planning/volume of the ECommerce solution to implement exceeded our internal capacity of staffing at the beginning of the project. We went to AG04 in order to find the extra resources we needed.

What were your goals for this project?

The goal of the project was to setup the Digital solution that would enable our end Customer to activate its new activity in the B2B2C Market.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We already had very good experiences with AG04 and so asked them if they could help.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

AG04 provided a team of Backend (Java) And Front End (React) developers, coached by a AG04 project manager, that implemented sections of the solutions.

What was the team composition?

The project team went from 1 to 5 developers, with associated project management workload.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

The project is still under development , but so far the quality metrics as reported by our end customer are excellent !

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Planning and reporting went as easy and precise as you could wish for, with the proper alerts at the proper times when needed (not much)

What did you find most impressive about this company?

In addition to the excellent team spirit and commitment, the reactivity and the flexibility of the management was much appreciated when we needed to adapt AG04 team stize to stick to our daily reality.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Still need to think about that...nothing pops in my mind

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of custom software development and work in the near real-time sector for Končar. We primarily work for utility companies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AG04?

We required help with two software development projects.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Their team is developing two custom software programs from scratch. Additionally, they’re testing the platforms for bugs and issues.

What is the team composition?

The AG04 team provides 3–4 dedicated individuals for our project.

How did you come to work with AG04?

I used my connections within my network and contacted several developers. After three months of research, I interviewed the entire AG04 team and chose them for the project.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $350,000 on the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in November 2017 and the project is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

The work they’ve produced completely satisfies our expectations.

How did AG04 perform from a project management standpoint?

To keep up with the fast nature of the project, we worked in the same location and formed strong connections. They have a solid, unique approach and our process is smooth because of it. Their team communicates with us daily through email and in-person meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We appreciate that the team has remained consistent throughout the project. They have a strong understanding of our needs because they’ve been involved since the beginning. They’re eager to learn from us and solve our issues creatively. Overall, they're a great team.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There's nothing they could improve on.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You can educate yourself about software development by working with AG04—they’re a strong team to learn from.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of Product Development for XebiaLabs, a company that develops continuous delivery software.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AG04?

We needed to scale up and acquire developers with certain technology knowledge.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our company has three products, which we continuously improve and extend. AG04 is working on two of them. They help us develop the new features we add to the products.

One of the products, called XL Deploy, deploys software toward different environments. The other is called XL Release. They started building integrations. The product grew suddenly, so they moved into the core team. They’re now a mature contributor to these two products’ core engines.

All the features they build are great. We build a new feature, add it to the project, do first rounds, get some user feedback for about half a year, and then start adding more new features. They participate in the process. We use Java, Scala, React, and Angular.

What is the team composition?

They now have two autonomous teams working on our products. We use everyone, from junior engineers all the way up to senior engineers. The senior engineers usually lead the team’s progress in the role of Scrum masters. We don't use any project or product managers.

Those are located at our headquarters in Hilversum, Netherlands, but reach out often to the Croatian team. They run two independent software development teams and are responsible for maintaining our quality standards. They’re valuable contributors, and they also improve the core process and delivery. We just have engineers with different levels of knowledge and experience.

How did you come to work with AG04?

They were working before I joined the company. Even before they join my team, AG04 trains their junior engineers using our framework and process. That’s a great benefit. Another thing that distinguishes them is that they always have seniors in the team who onboard the junior engineers to our process. It’s not only the technology they own, but also the way of working which is helpful. People get used to how we work.

They’re happy to be a part of our team. They made a long-term commitment, which I really like. The teams and people are stable, and they participate in the events we organize. They’re a part of the organization, not just a contractor.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 2014 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We have been pleased with their knowledge and capabilities. They perform like our in-house team. They’re mature and participative. They have a lot of domain knowledge and can solve really difficult customer issues. Their senior engineers are dedicated to helping us. They’re just part of the family.

How did AG04 perform from a project management standpoint?

We moved from classic project management to an agile methodology. They run independent teams. Every release has been a mini-project, which they run very well. They do project delivery estimation themselves and reach out to us if they have questions. We use Jira and email, and HipChat for day-to-day integration with the teams in India and the Netherlands. It’s a daily stream of communication. We put a little bit of documentation in Confluence.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The management team wants long-term commitments, which I really like. They really understand technologies and know what the new frameworks are, what conferences you have to go to, how you should train your people, and how to determine quality in software development. They’re committed, knowledgeable, and capable of managing an IT team. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

A company that is extremely technology-minded can sometimes struggle to grow. They have difficulty growing and finding the right people. We’re on the journey together, and we can challenge each other.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Don’t go to them for a couple of cheap bodies. Go to them because you see value in having a full team to help you build your products. Every relationship requires a little time and investment. Take the time and engage with them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Vice President Product Development, Regulatory of ArisGlobal LLC

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

ArisGlobal provides cloud-based software solutions for life sciences companies, enabling automation and compliance in drug development, pharmacovigilance, regulatory affairs, and safety reporting.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Notch to accomplish?

• Product Development Team Augmentation

SOLUTION

How did you find Notch?

Referral

Why did you select Notch over others?

• High ratings
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from Notch were assigned to this project?

21

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Accelerating roadmap of LifeSphere Regulatory SaaS Product.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Progress on pre-planned milestones on product roadmap, within estimated timeframes.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Notch demonstrated excellent project management throughout our engagement. They delivered resources on time and were highly responsive to our evolving needs. Communication was clear and proactive, making it easy to integrate their team members into our workflows.

What was your primary form of communication with Notch?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

What impressed me most was the quality of talent they provided. Their developers integrated seamlessly with our team and required minimal ramp-up time. It's clear Notch invests in vetting and preparing their people before placement.

Also, partnership is genuine. Unlike typical vendors who disappear after placement, Notch stayed engaged throughout the engagement. Check-ins are regular, proactively addressing any concerns, and ensuring mutual success rather than just filling seats.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Notch could have done differently?

As a general software development partner, they're excellent. Life sciences domain expertise isn't their specialty, which we anticipated so our Product and SME teams guide requirements while Notch delivers the technical execution. For companies in regulated industries, adding developers with domain awareness could differentiate them further.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of StackState

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We're an observability company that provides software for business to increase the reliability of their mission critical applications.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Notch to accomplish?

• Development of our frontend
• Development of our integrations into other IT platforms

SOLUTION

How did you find Notch?

Referral

Why did you select Notch over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fits our budget
• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Notch were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

• The team has contributed to the development of our Agent, a small component of our platform that is harvesting observability telemetry. 
• The team is still contributing to our UI, the interface where our customers interact with.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We had very clear deliveries, and continuous evolvement of our product. The colleagues from the Notch team became a true integrated part of our development teams.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

They always deliver on time. Since they integrate entirely with our teams we work in the same way and philosophy.

What was your primary form of communication with Notch?

Virtual Meeting

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

The deep understanding of technology as well as their efforts to mentor people on their side as well.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Notch could have done differently?

Not that I can dream about.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Position: Scrum Product Owner Company: European-based technology group for construction services, with more than 75,000 employees.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Agency04?

To develop a custom we solution in Java and Angular.

What were your goals for this project?

A digital cockpit solution with access to relevant business and client data anytime from anywhere, via smartphone or tablet.

SOLUTION

How did you select Agency04?

Recommandation.

Describe the project in detail.

This Web application aggregates and visualizes data in real-time from 13 different ERP systems. Access is possible at any time from anywhere, including via smartphone or tablet. From quarries to landfills and from asphalt to concrete mixing plants, the app is used by a majority of building material production operations.

What was the team composition?

Two Frontend developers, two backend developers, one UI/UX Designer and one Quality Engineer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The application has been running for 2 years now and on a daily basis by hundreds of users use it in our company.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Although we work 100% remote and as a distrubuted team, communication has never been an issue, and we were are able to introduce a very effective workflow that we keep on improving.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Lots of very motivated and commited people, excellent know how and flexible when it comes to team constellations and distributed working.

Are there any areas for improvement?

All challenges our projects faced were solved together quickly!